All it took was a purchase of one nursing bra and Amazon began flooding me with advertisements for pregnancy and baby-related products. Some people find this kind of targeted advertising convenient. I find it invasive and annoying. I don't even mind it if I'm outright searching for something and they show me related products, but now whatever I'm doing in Amazon, I'm bombarded with suggestions on what I might want for my breasts, nether region or yet-to-be-born baby.
With the "convenience" that comes with having your every digital move catalogued and analyzed, we lose a significant amount of privacy. Today it's my own view of Amazon, Google, Facebook, etc. that's affected by my purchases, searches and comments; what of the day when Amazon starts recommending to my friends and family viewing my Wish List that I might appreciate some nursing pads or stretch mark cream? And if you think they won't, you're taking the concept of "corporations are people too, my friend" too seriously. I'm sure there are plenty of Amazon employees and even executives who would oppose such tactics, but ultimately it's the bottom-line that will drive such decisions; after all it's their legal obligation to their shareholders to scrabble for every dime they can.
I quit Facebook the day I commented that I was going to Boston and started getting advertisements for Boston restaurants and events in my sidebar. I knew that day was coming though and had always been conscientious of what I posted there. I don't think people, particularly young people, are always that aware. Once it's online, assume it's there forever. Go ahead and delete or close your account thinking that's wiped it out, it's still on some server somewhere.
Think Facebook won't turn over a log of your full history (deleted or not) to a government intelligence agency if asked, even without a warrant? Did you think the same thing about phone companies before the Bush administration made it clear that saying the word "terrorist" absolves both the government and telecommunications companies of having to adhere to any laws, right down to the very Constitution they supposedly hold so dear? And it's not just the government you have to worry about, Facebook has already "accidentally" revealed what was supposed to be private information of users to third-party application developers when those users installed their apps.
Whatever privacy scandals we hear about related to social media and search engines (try googling "Google Germany Privacy" for some insight on how they push the boundaries) is only what they've been caught doing and assuredly just the tip of the iceburg, and advances in technology and the evolution of artificial intelligence will bring about privacy breaches we can't even yet fathom. It's a strange, new world we live in.
There is a bit of "turnaround is fair play" going on in the world though. The same companies that push the boundaries of the trust we put in them with our personal data have put their own trust in the government and companies of China as they use factories there for manufacturing and setup branch offices. China doesn't have the same ideas about intellectual property as we do. Companies have found themselves victim to corporate espionage, stealing and recreation of their designs and even disturbingly finding monitoring devices built into electronics that were not in the design. The Chinese government offers lip services to such breaches, but rarely takes any action on the matter. Be patriotic and come back to the USA guys; we may expect living wages and safe, non-toxic work environments, but at least you can have us arrested and sue us if we steal from or sabotage you.
